1hr 45min at a 185 heart rate and 99.9 degrees was a good effort to end the year! Saturday was a really fun 7 minute Super D and I was able to take the win by just a few seconds over Ben Bostrom. On Sunday it was Ben who held me off by a few seconds...
I welcomed the heat going into the day, hoping it to use it to my advantage. When it's 100 degrees and the course is completely exposed to the sun, a little pacing, and extra cooling can go a long ways. Ben and Sid opened a gap on the main climb of the first lap and I already wasn't feeling that great due to the heat, but knew I just had to rely on my own pacing and be patient. Beth was awesome in the feedzone as always and kept me cool and hydrated. The plan seemed to be working as I caught Sid and Ben going into the second lap. Then they opened a gap again on the main climb. Then I came back up to Sid again going into the third and final lap. But this time Ben held his gap and opened it up even more on the climb. There wasn't much chance of me catching him in the last 15 minutes of racing after he had been stronger all day, but I kept my head down and effort up. In the end I brought him back into sight and the gap to 7 seconds, but that was everything I had! It was straight to the snow cone stand and into the pool for me! I didn't get the win but it was a great effort and fun weekend with friends to end the season.
I'm so grateful for the year that Beth and I have had. Last night I realized it was 15 years ago that I did my first mountain bike race, I've been racing for half of my life!! The love won't die!
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